The Role of Ethical Leadership in Internal Communication: Influences on Communication Symmetry, Leader Credibility, and Employee Engagement
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The Role of Ethical Leadership in Internal Communication: Influences on Communication Symmetry, Leader Credibility, and Employee Engagement Linjuan Rita Men, Ph.D., APR This research project was funded by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University. ABSTRACT This study examines the contribution of ethical leadership to internal communication effectiveness by examining the influences of ethical leader behaviors, such as fair treatment, role clarification, power sharing, people orientation, integrity, ethical guidance, and concern for sustainability, on symmetrical internal communication, perceived leader credibility, and employee engagement. Results showed that ethical leadership as an antecedent factor plays a critical role in nurturing the symmetrical communication system of an organization, which in turn engages employees. Ethical leader behaviors also help establish leader credibility (i.e., trustworthiness and expertise) as perceived by employees. Symmetrical communication mediates the influences of power sharing and people orientation on employee engagement. Significant theoretical and practical implications of the study findings are discussed. Keywords: employee, ethics, engagement, leadership, credibility, stakeholders INTRODUCTION The importance of internal communication in achieving business success of an organization cannot be overemphasized. Employees have the closest connection with the organization among different strategic publics and play dual roles as organizational production force and public representatives. Numerous scholars had noted the critical role of effective internal communication in nurturing positive employee attitudes, such as job satisfaction (Gray & Laidlaw, 2004), trust, and organizational commitment (Jo & Shim, 2005), as well as positive employee–organization relationships. These outcomes further enhance productivity and organizational performance (Berger, 2008). In addition, quality employee–organization relationships that emerge from best practices of internal To cite this article Men, L. R. (2015). The role of ethical leadership in internal communication: Influences on communication symmetry, leader credibility, and employee engagement. Public Relations Journal, 9(1). Available online: http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/Vol9/No1/ Men Ethical Leadership in Internal Communication communication foster positive employee communication and advocacy behavior (Kim & Rhee, 2011; Men, 2014 a), which subsequently affect an organization’s intangible assets, such as reputation and stakeholder relations. A growing number of scholars had highlighted the importance of research in this general topic and suggested sundry factors that contribute to the success of internal communication. For example, L. Grunig, J. Grunig, and Dozier (2002) suggested key factors that facilitate an organization’s internal communication, including a participative organizational culture, an organic structure, power symmetry, and gender equality. More recently, Men and Stacks (2013) and Men (2014a, 2014c) argued that organizational leadership as a contextual factor nurtures internal communication in organizations because leaders interact with employees on a daily basis, and leadership communication is a major component of the organization’s internal communication system. They further validated this argument by demonstrating the positive influences of transformational and authentic leadership on symmetrical communication within the organization (Men & Stacks, 2014). Both transformational and authentic leadership have been described as containing an ethical component (Kalshoven, Den Hartog, & De Hoogh, 2011), which also concurs with the notion of symmetrical communication (J. Grunig, 1992). While ethical leadership behavior has emerged as a separate positive leadership style, one that is frequently being placed on top of an organization’s priority list, the positive influence of ethical leadership on internal communication and employee outcomes in an organization must be speculated. However, such interplay effects have yet to be explored. The current research is therefore an extensive attempt to improve the understanding on the significance of leadership in internal communication by placing a particular emphasis on ethical leadership. Drawing from public relations, organizational communication, and management literature, this study tests the influences of a set of ethical leadership behaviors on symmetrical communication, perceived leader credibility, and employee engagement in an organization. Leader credibility is of utmost importance in the leadership and communication process (Swanson & Kent, 2014) of an organization because leaders are widely perceived as one of the most important sources of information for employees. Considering the plausible linkage between ethical leader conduct, integrity, and leader credibility, the present study aims to provide empirical evidence on the influences of ethical leadership on leader credibility perceived by employees. Results of this study will provide significant implications for organizational leaders in establishing credibility among employees. Furthermore, this study predicts employee engagement as an important outcome of ethical leadership behavior and symmetrical internal communication. Recognizing the significant difference that engaged employees can contribute to organizational success, a growing number of scholars and professionals across the management and communication fields had explored the sundry factors that drive employee engagement (Robinson, Perryman, & Hayday, 2004). Leadership and communication had been suggested to play central roles in engaging employees (Robinson, et al., 2004). However, empirical research that documents such Public Relations Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 2015) 2 Men Ethical Leadership in Internal Communication observations is lacking. The current study therefore aims to fill this research gap by exploring the contributions of ethical leadership behavior and symmetrical internal communication to employee engagement. The findings of this study will add to the growing body of literature on engagement and shed strategic insights on how to build an engaged workforce through strategic leadership communication. LITERATURE REVIEW Ethical leadership Organizational leadership as a form of influence in the organization (Yukl, 2006) provides a critical organizational context for effective internal communication practice. On one hand, leadership influences organizational infrastructures, such as the development of an organizational culture (Yukl, 2006), structure, and communication climate. On the other hand, leaders who are preferred sources of information of the employees play an important role in cascading messages to low-level employees and in relaying employee grievances to top management. Various types of leadership behavior, such as transformational, transactional (e.g., Bass, 1990), inclusive (e.g., Aldoory & Toth, 2004), authentic, shared, and ethical leadership, had been identified by scholars. The present study focuses on ethical leadership, an emerging leadership type that is expected to have positive influences on the attitudes and ethical conduct of employees, and then ultimately on the business unit and organizational performance. The ethical elements of leadership have long been discussed. For example, Bass and Avolio (2000) noted that an ethical dimension of leadership has been embedded primarily in inspiring, stimulating, visionary, and empowering transformational leadership domains. May, Chan, Hodge, and Avolio (2003) argued that authentic leadership incorporates a positive moral perspective that guides decision making and behaviors such as honesty, altruism, kindness, fair treatment, accountability, and optimism (Yukl, 2006). Such ethical elements, however, “come together to characterize ethical leadership, but none of these aspects, by themselves, constitutes all of what ethical leadership entails” (Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005, p. 122). Realizing the conceptual gap, Brown et al. (2005) proposed ethical leadership as separate from other leadership styles and initially defined ethical leadership as “…the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making” (p. 120). Brown et al. (2005) also developed a scale to measure ethical leader behaviors such as acting fairly and honestly, allowing followers' voices to be heard, and rewarding ethical conduct. However, such one-dimensional measure may fall short in uncovering the different mechanics in developing and in implementing ethical leadership. Thus, based on the definition by Brown et al. (2005) and that in extant literature, Kalshoven et al. (2011) redefined ethical leadership as a multi- dimensional construct that has seven distinct dimensions, namely, fair treatment, power sharing, role clarification, people orientation, integrity, ethical guidance, and concern for sustainability. Public Relations Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 2015) 3 Men Ethical Leadership in Internal Communication The first three dimensions (i.e., fair treatment, power sharing, and role clarification) reflect the concept of ethical leadership by Brown et al. (2005), where fair treatment refers to ethical leaders acting with integrity and treating others fairly and not practicing favoritism, or avoiding